Green
by PinkRangerV
Summary: The Green Power had not been seen in the universe for a long time. AU, Oneshot.
1. Chapter 1

A\N: *grumbles about plot bunnies*

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><p>There had not been Green Rangers in a very long time.<p>

The Power Rangers themselves had emerged purely from war. One planet enslaving another; a war repeated a thousand ways across the galaxy, each time more heinously than the last. But these were the planets of Tallia and Eltar, the sisters who ruled over science and magic with equal prestige. The galaxy was horrified as they turned on each other, and yet more horrified at Eltar's victory.

An intersection was formed of science and magic, spells harnessed into technology. The field of energy which it worked with, neither magic nor understandable, was called the Power, a shorthand name created by engineers more concerned with their work than beauty in naming. And so when a young Tallian found the Power, he had no other name to call it by as he forged new ones.

The first Colors were Red, Yellow, and Blue. The Tallian boy who created Blue knew his lone warrior was outmatched, and so created Black and Purple to stand alongside him. Eltar countered with Violet, although Violet quickly retreated in the name of money, and White. So the Tallian boy crafted the Green Power for himself.

The battles were few and mighty, laying waste to all things, until finally the battle came down to two colors: Zordon of Eltar, White Ranger, and Zedd, Prince of Tallia, Green Ranger. Finally, each collapsing in the ground, the war came to a standstill.

After the first Treaty of Power, many compromises were reached, and many changes were made. Teams of Rangers sprang up and disappeared; the worlds fought and allied and betrayed. But only one thing remained.

Neither White nor Green Powers were to be used again.

It was not written into the Treaty itself, it was simply that the only people who could pass on the Power, at least the first time, were the Rangers who first held them. Zordon refused to choose for his own reasons. There was no one 'pure' enough, perhaps.

Zedd curled his hands around the balcony window. His reasons were far more complex.

Honor. That one word ruled a Green Ranger, and no one he had met, in his thousands of years of travels, had ever had it. Oh, many had claimed it, especially upon learning he was the famed Green Ranger of Tallia, but there was no one who could, in the face of a thousand swords, stand and say, 'no. I will not violate this principle'.

And yet Rita, that stupid witch, had passed it on.

Zedd watched yet again as Tommy Oliver played with his friends. Honor...such an indefinable, complex thing. Such a strange beast. It could be measured only one way. What were you in the dark?

In dark, in light, it did not matter. Zedd was always the same. No matter how much he had learned or changed, the Green Power had never deserted him, and he still felt honored by that. Yet, despite this, Zedd felt the Power..._split_. It whispered for use, carried him thoughts and dreams of a boy named Tommy.

A son. A thief. Zedd could not decide.

Zedd was more powerful than Zordon could dream. He had watched Tommy constantly. Night, day, anytime Zedd could spare a few moments. And when he watched, he was reminded, forcefully, of others. There, those flashes-himself, a young boy clever enough to escape people who claimed to own him, yet honorable enough to refuse it. There-Zordon, pure and certain of everything, yet always kind, always loving. There-the first Red Ranger, strong and calm.

It had been weeks. Zedd needed to choose. Would he honor Rita's decision, and allow the boy to keep his Color? Or reclaim them for a nobler wielder?

But who said it was _his_ choice?

Zedd smiled. Yes. Yes, perfect-offer the boy a place at his side, and a chance to earn those powers. And if the boy refused...

Zedd had often wondered if Zordon would pass on the White Power if it meant saving a life. If Tommy refused, Zedd might well find out.


	2. Chapter 2

A\N: lunarweather requested another chapter, and I heard Nickleback's 'lullaby' for the first time, so...here 'tis.

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><p>Tommy woke up slowly.<p>

He was in a room. It was dark here, but there were none of the pillars or candles of Rita's Dark Dimensions. He shivered, reaching down to grab his blanket and throw it over his shoulders. That was the _last_ time he slept in boxers.

He wrapped himself up and glanced up.

A screen flickered to life. It was huge, hovering in the darkness above him, and the light was brilliant, although wherever he was, the floor and walls were painted pure black as well as being far away. Tommy shivered. Was this a Zedd plot? Or was he hurt or sick, dying somewhere in his own mind?

The screen flickered again, and the static cleared to show the Green Ranger standing triumphant on the battlefield. Tommy frowned. A victory? Why show him th-

The camera zoomed out to show the other five Rangers, huddled together and clutching various injuries.

Tommy looked away.

He couldn't shut his ears. The Green Ranger gave that laugh, the one that Tommy still heard haunting his nightmares, then declared, _"In the name of the Empress!"_, various sounds telling him that the Green Ranger had begun charging at the Rangers again, throwing blow after devastating blow.

Someone screamed. It was Kim. Tommy felt tears welling in his eyes as he remembered that fight, knew what would happen next-there, the shattering of glass from his fist punching through her helmet.

_"Stop it! Please! Please, just stop!"_

Tommy clenched his teeth. There was enough pleading in the room. He wasn't going to add to it.

"Why close your eyes, Green Ranger? We're just getting to the good part."

Tommy's eyes flew open, and he looked wildly around, expecting Zedd. There was no one there, though, except a young man. He was maybe in his twenties, with dark hair and eyes of pure green, and overall looked like an elf, if a six-foot-tall one. "Um." Tommy said, blinking. "Are you _insane_?"

"No, why would I be?" The man asked, shrugging. "I mean, _look_ at it. That guy? He just, wham, and anything he wants. Just like that!" The man grinned, his shaggy black hair swinging as he shook his hair. "Damn, I wish I were him."

Tommy actually gaped.

"Bro, it's okay." The man smiled a bit more gently. "You're among friends here. Really, it's okay to admit it."

"Admit _what_?" Tommy demanded.

The man shrugged. "That you want it back. The ability to do anything..." He glanced up at the screen, where Kimberly was crying silently as Tommy grabbed her by the throat. "...Get the girl..."

"Have you ever seen people die?"

The man blinked. "Um. Yeah, a lot of them, why?"

"What was the first time?" Tommy continued calmly.

The man shrugged. "When my homeworld was enslaved."

"...Oh." Tommy blinked. "Um. Sorry."

"It's okay. I got this." The man held up his wrist. A morpher was on it-clunky, yes; clearly a prototype, yes; but a morpher, and Tommy gaped. It was colored _green_. He was a Green Ranger? "It kinda made up for it, you know?" The man said.

"Are you _joking_?"

The man blinked.

"Man, you have the power of the universe on your wrist, and _that's_ how you want to use it?" Tommy gestured at the screen. "Are you just screwing with me or something?"

"Not really." The man considered. "Okay, try something else." He dug a remote control out of his pocket, aiming it at the screen and casually flipping the channel. "What about this?"

On the screen was the Green Ranger again, but this time leading an army. It was made up of monsters, elves, and blue-skinned Eltarians, and as they marched through the streets, people were cheering. The scene changed, and Tommy saw the army, alongside the Green Ranger, giving aid and food to people who were injured or sick.

"So what d'you think?" Zedd continued, circling around behind Tommy. "You want this? I mean, come on. Freeing planets, bringing peace and justice to entire _worlds_..." He put a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "It's a lot more than what you do as a Power Ranger, isn't it?"

"It would start that way."

Zedd raised an eyebrow. Tommy couldn't see it, but he could sense it anyway.

"Even if you weren't lying at first, it would be doing something for the greater good. Then killing for the greater good. Then taking over a planet for the greater good...it would just slip and slip and slip." Tommy laughed bitterly, shutting his eyes. "The first time I saw death," He said, his voice nearly a whisper, "I saw a mass murder. There was this monster killing people, just random people. I saw blood. I heard them screaming. I wanted to go help them, try and _save_ someone, but I was just frozen. I couldn't move."

Zedd was still silent.

"And then I looked down at my hands and realized that it was me."

Zedd paused a moment longer. "So what you truly desire," He said, his voice now at its normal depth, though far less scratchy, "Is to forget."

"No." Tommy laughed bitterly. "I deserve it." He bit back the rest of what he wanted to say-he deserved all of it, every injury in battle, every scar on his own psyche, because he'd done that horrible thing.

"Is there _anything_ you want, Tommy?" Zedd asked quietly. "Or are you so absorbed in self-loathing you've forgotten your own needs?"

"I don't _care_ about myself. I care about other people. And I help them." Tommy felt a small, proud smile on his face. "So I'm okay, really."

"Just helping others?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Zedd considered that. Then, slowly, he stepped away. Tommy saw that he wasn't in his young form anymore, but neither was he skinless and armored; he was in his forties, tall and proud, dressed in loose green clothes and holding his staff. Tommy saw a glimpse of a thin silver chain around his neck, crossing the thick, dark scars on the skin.

"You are honorable, Tommy Oliver." Zedd said quietly. "Very honorable." He seemed to consider Tommy for a moment. "I would be proud of my own son in your shoes...though I have to say I would worry a bit more than Zordon about your mental health."

"**And I do not.**"

Tommy jumped, then whirled. Zordon strode forward. He was short, much shorter than Tommy had expected, but his smile was familiar and comforting. "**Hello, Tommy. It appears Zedd has remade the Dark Dimensions.**"

"It appears you don't know when not to interfere." Zedd remarked calmly. "The boy is mine now."

"**No, Zedd.**" As Zordon walked closer, Tommy could see that it was only a hologram. For a wizard, Tommy thought wryly, Zordon used an awful lot of technology. "**You hold no claim on Tommy's soul.**"

"No claim? And have _you_ passed _your_ Power on, Zordon?" Zedd hissed, his knuckles whitening on his staff. "Or do you even know what that means, to have an heir?"

"**Tommy is not your heir.**"

Zedd snorted. "Of course not." He studied Tommy, then said, "A final chance, Tommy. I can grant you the ability for _real_ good. No tricks, no lies, no slippery slopes. Everything you wanted."

Tommy glanced between Zedd and Zordon, then shook his head, stepping slightly closer to the hologram. "I'm done working for evil."

Zedd sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Deluded boy. So be it." He shook his head. "You're wrong, you know. I'm not evil. Neither is Zordon, not that he'll admit it. But my people won't allow too much betrayal..." He gave Tommy a long look, then smiled slightly. "When I'm finished, go back to your martial arts tournaments. You're good at it."

"Um. Finished?" Tommy asked nervously, but Zordon's hologram gave him a glance.

"**Come, Tommy. This meeting is finished.**"

"Yes, it is." Zedd agreed, bowing slightly. He turned and vanished in a flash of flame.

Zordon shut his eyes. A blue portal appeared, and Zordon looked expectantly at Tommy, who walked through obediently. His bedroom was on the other side. It was so strange to see light again...

He turned and saw nothing.

Tommy blinked, then reached over to his dresser, grabbing his communicator and raising it to his lips. "Zordon? Um...did you get back okay?"

"**Back from where?**"

...What? "The, um, Dark Dimensions? We were just there a second ago..."

Tommy could almost hear Zordon's smile. "**You were dreaming, Tommy. It's all right. Go back to sleep.**"

"_Yes, Tommy!_" Alpha 5 agreed. "_You will fail your test tomorrow unless you have slept._"

...Ookay then. "Um. Okay. Sorry about that. 'Night."

He climbed back into bed, shaking his head as he spread his cover over himself.

Far away, on the moon, a man watched in silence before turning away. It was time to take away the Green Power, as his people expected of their King. After all, their King was not known for his mercy to his enemies, and Tommy had certainly declared himself an enemy of Tallia...

Zedd closed his eyes and touched the staff he held. Under his fingers, it almost seemed to ripple green.

_Finis._


End file.
